Cloud computing might eventually lead to far more lifelike destruction in video games, according to an EA executive.

We know that cloud gaming is the next big thing. Google thinks they can get in on the ground floor with Stadia, a new platform that lets you game through a Google Chromecast. It’s been a bit of a bumpy launch and it doesn’t quite have the same capabilities of home systems, but it works. And it’ll only get better.

But gaming without the benefit of a home PC or console system is just one of the benefits that could come from cloud computing. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Electronic Arts Chief Technology Officer Ken Moss said that what makes him really excited is how the cloud could be used to improve games in almost every capacity.

Starting with explosions.

“If you apply that to an actual game like Battlefield… DICE prides itself on amazing destruction. They blow stuff up better than anyone,” Moss began. “But the simulations they do for destruction are very limited compared to what they would really like to do, because they have a certain amount of GPU and a certain amount of CPU and they have to do it in real-time. If they could have a pool of servers up there that can be running our physics engine in Frostbite and be calculating better destruction, it can be like real life.”

The potential of networked CPU’s all being tasked with improving game performance can do more than just make explosions prettier. They can be used for every aspect of a game’s physics engine, making water ripples in a pond appear like the real thing. Every leaf, every flower, and every blade of grass could have it’s own physics simulation to make it sway in the wind just like in real life.

Particle effects, weather effects, and more could all improve exponentially with the power of cloud computing.

What’s really holding back the cloud is internet infrastructure. As Google Stadia has proven, a solid connection is what separates a cloud game from a regular console game. If you don’t have a high-speed and reliable connection, you can’t game at all, but a home console at least lets you play single-player games without an internet connection (usually).

(Source: GamesIndustry.biz)